College Gardens Elementary School

Family Fun Night is Coming!!

The PTA’s Family Fun Night will be on Friday, February 24^th.  College Gardens will be turned into a Winter Wonderland!  We need volunteers to help plan and work this event that is fun for the whole family.  There will be food, games, crafts, a DJ, a raffle and more!   The proceeds from the raffle help fund this event.  If you are interested in donating to the raffle, helping out or know students who need SSL hours, please contact Gegi Leeger on 301-879-2219 or at GegiPTA@hotmail.com.

Parent Volunteers Needed

• The College Gardens Art Program seeks a publicist to help make sure information about art contests and shows is distributed to all families.

• Mr. Cousin also seeks a Parent Liason for the CGES Conservation committee. 

Please consider helping out. Email veronicasfoley@yahoo.com or contact Mr. Cousin for more information.

Science Fair Expo - April 28th - Parent Volunteers Needed

It's just January, but planning for the Annual CGES Science Fair Expo in April is about to start.  Our current need is a parent (or two) to Co-chair this event with CGES staff members.  If you are interested or wish to be on the planning committee, please contact PTA President, Jen Green at hahleewude@verizon.net, or Mr. Ewald at: John_D_Ewald@mcpsmd.org.

Meet Ms. Kou, our CGES Visiting Teacher from China

Last week, Eric Van Ryzin, PTA VP of Communications, sat down with Ms. Jia Kou, our new visiting teacher from China, and had a delightful conversation.  Ms. Kou works regularly with our children here at CGES to provide Chinese language and culture instruction as part of the school’s IB PYP program.  She also provides supporting instruction to students in the Chinese Immersion classrooms who need help with math or vocabulary skills.

I hope you enjoy reading our conversation:

Where are you from in China? 

I live in Huzhou, in the Zhejiang province, very near Shanghai, Hangzhou and the West Lake.  Huzhou is very quiet compared to the big cities of China.  People there live a very peaceful life.

Are you a teacher in Huzhou? 

Yes, I teach at the Huzhou Teachers College.  I teach College English, plus some Western culture and history.  Most of my students there will become teachers when they graduate.

You said you’ve been in the United States since November? 

Yes, I arrived in the United States on the Monday night before your Thanksgiving break, Nov. 21^st.   I started here at the school on Monday, Nov. 28^th.

What is your teaching schedule here at College Gardens? 

I’m very proud of the fact that I help teach 817 students here.   I meet with all the Chinese Immersion students once a week, for one hour (1 hour weekly).   In addition, I meet with the non-C.I. students once every two weeks for 30 minutes (30 minutes biweekly).

You meet students in their classrooms? 

Yes, I go to the different classes to meet them.

What has been your biggest revelation, or surprise since you’ve been in the United States? 

In China, we think all American children are more independent, more creative, compared with our children, so I just brought this question with me to try to find the answer, and I think I found part of it.  Kids enjoy more freedom here.  For example they can put on one purple color shoe and one red color shoe and go out like this, but in China we never do that.

How are the school systems different? 

My first week here, I just felt like I came to a different world because everything about the school system is different.  The teachers here, they don’t have an office.  In China, all the teachers have office desks and they live in their office and the teachers only teach one subject.   But here, teachers teach all the subjects except for Art, PE, and Music.  Here they teach math, language, reading, writing, social studies… nearly everything.

In China do students move around a lot? 

No, teachers move around a lot.  In China, if I teach mathematics, I only teach mathematics.  I never touch other subjects.   And I go to different classrooms to teach mathematics.  In China, our school hours are 8am – 5pm, so students will spend more time inside the school.  Plus they spend a lot of time afterschool doing homework.   I think students here have more free time.

In general, what do you enjoy most about teaching? 

I think the key word is “change,” because when you are a teacher, everyday you can find a change among your students.   They grow up, they learn more, they become more mature everyday.  And one day, maybe, they can become your lifelong friends.   Also they can make you change, because when I’m with students, they make me feel younger, because everyday I try to find their world.  They can make you change because sometimes they push you to change, they will ask you to learn more and you may find something you don’t know.    When you connect, you have to learn more.   So I think “change” is the key word to answer this question.

I hope the students here are inquisitive and that they take the opportunity to learn not only the language, but also the culture of China from you. 

I’m learning a lot here.  I think all the students here are very cute and sometimes they ask me questions that I’ve never had to think about before.  For example, one student said,  “Ms. Kou, you always wear the same coat everyday.”  Because of the luggage limitations, I brought very few clothes from China.  My suitcase could only be 23 kg and I brought my wok, my Chinese cooking wok, which is 5 kg.  So I had very little room for clothes, so I put on the same coat everyday.  The student said, “you can wear your summer clothes if you like.”  I said it’s too cold.   They said, “You should run to school to stay warm, you will not be cold.”  (laugh)  Sometimes it’s very interesting to talk with them.

What do you enjoy most about working with the students here? 

This is what I’m so proud of, because I have 817 students I work with here, and they know me.   Whenever I meet them in the corridor they say, “Ms. Kou, ni hao!”    “Ni hao” means hello.   And some even run to me and give me a big hug and that makes me so happy.  But sometimes they just whisper to me in the hallway, “ni hao,” because they know the regulation, you cannot speak aloud.   So they just whisper it.   (laugh).  And the teachers here have given me so much help, from the arrangements for my coming here, to helping me to find accommodations, and they helped me to get to know the neighborhood and everything.   The teachers here are so wonderful.   So I’m very happy.

Ms. Kou said she would also love opportunities to share her culture with our parent community as well.  Please feel free to share your family’s culture and traditions by inviting her to attend events or just to visit your home for a meal/conversation/tea, etc. To offer an invitation to Ms. Kou, please contact Mrs. Molly Murray, the CGES Chinese Immersion Coordinator.  Ms. Kou truly wants to learn about our culture while sharing hers, and she’s wonderful to chat with.